Jeju Air Crash Investigation Hits Major Snag: Black Box Fails to Record Final 4 Minutes

The investigation into the tragic Jeju Air crash has encountered a significant obstacle. Officials have revealed that the aircraft’s black box failed to record the final four minutes before the crash, complicating efforts to determine the exact cause of the disaster.

The Incident: On December 29, 2024, a Jeju Air Boeing 737-800, operating flight 7C2216 from Bangkok to Muan, South Korea, crashed at Muan International Airport. The aircraft skidded off the runway after its landing gear failed to deploy, colliding with a concrete structure and bursting into flames. The crash resulted in the deaths of 179 out of the 181 people on board.

Initial analysis by South Korean officials and the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) revealed that both the flight data recorder (FDR) and cockpit voice recorder (CVR) stopped recording approximately four minutes before the crash. This missing data is crucial for understanding the sequence of events leading up to the accident.

The absence of the final four minutes of data presents a major challenge for investigators. Without this information, it becomes more difficult to piece together the aircraft’s final moments and identify any potential mechanical failures or human errors that may have contributed to the crash.

While the exact reason for the black box failure remains unclear, experts suggest that a complete power loss, including backup systems, could be a potential cause. Such occurrences are rare but not impossible.

Two minutes before the crash, air traffic controllers warned the pilot about possible bird activity. Shortly after, the pilot reported a bird strike and attempted an emergency landing. The aircraft’s sharp turn and approach from the opposite end of the runway, combined with the failure to deploy landing gear, led to the catastrophic crash.

The crash has raised concerns about airport safety, particularly regarding the localizer system at Muan International Airport. The aircraft collided with a concrete structure housing the localizer antennas, prompting questions about whether lighter materials should have been used to minimize impact damage.